LOCAL PRESS 

Vucic: What German Ambassador has said is not true, but he’s a good man (Beta/Politika) 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday that Serbia should tell German Ambassador Thomas Schieb that it was not true that NATO bombed Yugoslavia to prevent a genocide in Kosovo, but also underlined that the country needed to work closely with Germany. “Germany is Serbia’s largest investor and number one trade partner. Some would say that it’s not about

money, but Serbia’s future and changes in the country,” Vucic explained, adding that all of the 19 states that took part in the attack on Yugoslavia share the same opinion, and what that the

Ambassador said is nothing new. “I know him as a person who has helped Serbia a lot with new investments, a man who loves Serbia. I am confident he had to say what he did and support what German politics support,” Vucic said, adding that it had never crossed his mind to insult the Ambassador, because he didn’t deserve it.

Office for Kosovo and Metohija: Pristina hiding truth about Decani (RTS/Tanjug) 

“The accusations placed against the abbot of the Visoki Decani Monastery, Father Sava Janjic, were carefully designed to hide the real truth about the threat to this holy place, which has been under armed protection by international forces for 20 years due to frequent attacks by extremists,” reads the statement from the Office for Kosovo and Metohija. It is pointed out that “such senseless accusations, not only have no basis in reality, but are also hypocritical attempts to replace theses and declare monks war criminals”. It is pointed out that from the moment when the organization “Europa Nostra” included the monastery of Visoki Decani on the list of the seven most endangered sites in 2021, Pristina’s attempts to relativize this factual and evidence-based situation have not stopped. “Neither Visoki Decani shelled themselves, nor did Father Hariton cut off his own head in 1999. That is why it is absurd for self-declared Kosovo to self-declare itself an oasis of multiculturalism and religious tolerance, when we have daily incidents on the ground about which the EU has been informed, as well as all relevant international institutions in Kosovo and Metohija,” stated the Office.

Petkovic: Future in peace, no room for arms in dialogue (RTS/Tanjug/Politika) 

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic reacted to the statement of the member of Self-Determination Fidan Ademi, that “if necessary, he will fight for the creation of a greater Albania with arms” with the message that the future is in dialogue and peace. In a Twitter post, Petkovic asked Self-Determination leader and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti “whether such arms threats mean that creating a Greater Albania is among his top priorities”.

He also asked where in that case Kurti puts the dialogue, “in fifth place or lower”. “There is no room for weapons at the negotiating table! The future is in peace,” Petkovic said.

Dacic: Talks to amend election process start on 19 April (TV Pink/Beta)  

Serbian parliament speaker Ivica Dacic said on 10 April that he had received a letter from two EU lawmakers, Tanja Fajon and Vladimir Bilcik, and that the initial plan was to start talks expected to improve the election process on 19 April. Dacic said in an interview with TV Pink

that the letter arrived on 9 April, and that the Brussels officials will have online and face-to-face talks with Serbian parliamentary groups from 19 to 22 April, and that the two Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) would hold talks with political parties outside the parliament after that. “A tentative date for my talks with them is 7 May,” he said, adding that the views of relevant stakeholders would be presented to him then. Dacic reiterated that some parties did not want to take part in a EU-mediated dialogue at all, but that he would invite them to share their views any way. The Serbian speaker said that threats by some opposition parties to organize protests if the existing electoral conditions were not changed is a relict of the vocabulary of the past, as there is no social awareness to support that type of protest.

Eco rally takes place in Belgrade (Beta) 

Several thousand citizens took part in a rally in Belgrade dubbed The Eco Uprising. The organizer of the protest, the Defend the Rivers of Stara Planina group, requested a moratorium on the construction of small hydroelectric power plants and destruction of Serbian woodland and called for dynamic forestation instead. The protesters demanded respect for the Constitution and laws, as well as the right to live in a healthy environment, and requested that those responsible for harmful acts and the failure to act be dismissed. Aleksandar Jovanovic Cuta, an activist, called for a two hour show on national TV on the status of the environment in Serbia. Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic described the rally as an example of non-compliance and irresponsibility, because most of the protesters did not wear face masks. Serbian Minister of the Environment Irena Vujovic said the protest is a smokescreen for a political rally organized by people who want to quick political gains on environmental issues.

REGIONAL PRESS 

Inzko says Serb people are brave and honorable, there is no collective responsibility for war crimes (EuroBlic)

In an interview to the daily, High Representative Valentin Inzko was asked to state what moves he will make if the Republika Srpska (RS) parliament fails to revoke decorations for Momcilo Krajisnik, Biljana Plavsic and Radovan Karadzic within the deadline set by him and whether speculations on possible removals are true. Inzko replied by saying that he believes leaders of all political parties in the RS will demonstrate they have a mature and responsible approach to this matter because of which he does not want to comment on “what if” questions or possible sanctions. Inzko reminded that the deadline will expire at the end of April, having in mind that a session of the UN Security Council at which he will present his report on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) will be held at the beginning of May. “There is still enough of time for political elite of the RS to do the right thing and remove the burden they placed on back of citizens of the RS by adopting the decision to decorate sentenced war criminals on their behalf. The RS parliament, as the institution which sent official invitations for that ceremonial event and which awarded those decorations, now has the chance to show to the entire world what kind of the RS it wants in future: a modern entity which respects universal values or the entity which wants to be recognized as a place that celebrates war criminals. In my opinion, the choice is easy and simple if one keeps in mind what kind of legacy one wants to leave for future generations,” Inzko added. Asked to comment on the sentence in his letter in which he said that the revoking of decorations would “remove collective responsibility from Serb people” and also asked to state whether he was aware of seriousness of those words, Inzko replied by saying that the RS parliament is the highest legislative body of the RS and it was elected by the people to represent the people. “What they are doing in the RS parliament is being done on behalf of the people. By decorating sentenced war criminals, the impression of collective responsibility of voters was created, not for the committed war crimes but for glorification of war criminals. I will say this once again – this is only about glorification of war criminals on behalf of the people. I want to point out this difference clearly for all those who comment on this matter. And I will reiterate once again: there is no collective responsibility for committed war crimes. The Hague Tribunal never tried entire people, but it tried only individuals. Decorations of the RS parliament cannot change legal facts established by the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Serb people are brave and honorable people and I am sure they will find the right solution”, Inzko explained. Asked to comment on the perception in the RS that the High Representative is against the RS and Serb people, Inzko replied by saying that he was working for the Austrian Embassy in Belgrade from 1982 to 1986 and had a chance to meet extraordinary Serbs and even made a donation for the new Serb Orthodox Faculty. “This is just one example and I do not want to talk about things that I continued to do for more than 35 years”, Inzko said and added that it is incredible how passionate some political leaders are in their attempts to present the High Representatives and other international officials in a negative context while they are uninterested when talking about low average salaries and pensions and about the fact that the best and brightest citizens are leaving the country because they grew too tired of divisions, rhetoric that brings back gloomy images of war, unemployment, injustice etc. Inzko commented on the appointment of Christian Schmidt as the new High Representative, which seems to have gotten complicated, and also asked whether the RS parliament conclusions played any role in this, Inzko said that the RS parliament does not play any role in the process of the appointment of the High Representative. “As far as the appointment of my successor is concerned, I would suggest you to address representatives of member countries of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC). Or Germany. They are the ones deciding on this. It would be inappropriate for me to discuss it,” Inzko added. Asked to state why it would be a problem for him to address the RS parliament representatives and discuss outstanding issues, Inzko replied by saying that he was never invited to do so and he only learned from media that the RS parliament wants him to present a report on his work to them, but the RS parliament never sent a letter to him inviting him to do so. “Let me make it clear: I have no problems with addressing the RS parliament. However, I do not have an obligation to present reports to the RS parliament. I report to the UN Security Council on progress achieved in implementation of the Peace Agreement and my reports are available to everyone through the UN’s system and on the web page of my Office. I have to point out that the progress in implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement depends on the work of domestic institutions and not on the work of the High Representative. Having this in mind, asking the High Representative to report on his work is not in line with the Peace Agreement and it seems the goal of this is to shift blame for the fact they are not doing their jobs. In short, I report on the situation in the country and not on my work,” Inzko said. Commenting on the stance of Russia that the OHR should be shut down, Inzko said that the stance of Russia is well known and there is nothing about it to comment. Inzko added that, in his opinion, terms and preconditions for shutting down of the OHR have not been fulfilled and noted that he believes the OHR should stay in the country for as long as this is the case. Asked to comment on the stance of Head of the EU Delegation to B&H Johann Sattler who said that the role of the OHR in B&H should be reduced as it is incompatible with the European perspective of B&H and also asked “if speaking about representatives of the international community, whose opinion in B&H is currently more relevant – yours or the EU Ambassador’s,” Inzko said that the EU, as one of members of the PIC, is entitled to its opinion. “I am entitled to my own and I already answered your question. Germany had limited sovereignty for 45 years but it was still co-founder of the EU. Therefore, the membership and foreign presence are not incompatible. But, let us be realistic. B&H is not even a candidate country, let alone a member country. At the same time, in general, we agree that B&H must get out of the international supervision but this cannot be achieved over night. This process requires maturing,” Inzko said and mentioned the coronavirus situation as an example. Namely, Inzko wondered whether the Council of Ministers (CoM) of B&H has done its job, whether lives of citizens improved, why so many B&H citizens are leaving the country and he noted that B&H authorities have not done much to fulfill requirements for shutting down of the OHR. “It is up to the country and its leaders to achieve this goal as soon as possible. This is not a competition between the OHR and EU, OSCE, UN or Council of Europe on whose opinion is more relevant,” Inzko concluded.

Dodik: RS deserves peaceful life, not burdened by constant interventions of foreigners, which bring nothing good (TV Balkan)

Speaking for TV Balkan, Serb member and Chairman of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik stressed that the RS deserves peaceful life, which is not burdened by constant interventions of foreigners, which bring nothing good. “We have a right to a resource and piece of land named the RS and we will continue to build this right,” said Dodik. He argues that the RS is a small, but organized community which has high level of awareness about freedom and which is strongly identified with “what belongs and which is an insignia of a people, it is the only part of B&H which can permanently live alone”. “We do not bother anyone, members of other communities come to our St. Patron’s Day. This is a greeting for us and we will be doing this for eternity and while people in this region exist”, Dodik said. He stressed that COVID-19 pandemic halted the entire world and it is a huge tragedy that many people, including in the RS are dying. “Pandemic is not calming down. It impacts our economic development, but even with that, the RS which had overall GDP of 4.5 billion in 2006, when I came to the post of the RS Prime Minister, today has more than BAM 11 billion. This shows how we developed successfully and that a million of people is making a production which enables the RS to be self-sustainable,” said Dodik. He underlined that the RS had to demonstrate huge solidarity during the pandemic, but he also commended RS healthcare workers, noting that the RS position of a country, which is not internationally recognized, makes the procurement of vaccines somewhat more difficult. “We are not a state in this internationally- legal sense, but we still managed to reach an agreement with Russians regarding one million and hundred vaccines, meaning for 550,000 RS citizens”, said Dodik. He stressed that the RS demonstrated better ability to procure vaccines even than Montenegro, North Macedonia and other countries in the region did. He underlined gratitude to Serbia for donation of EUR 50 million and stressed that Croatia also secures EUR 200 million for Croats in B&H, but “this was not a story”.

Dodik: It is necessary to appoint new CEC in order to change electoral legislation (Glas Srpske)

B&H Presidency member and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik stated that it is necessary to appoint a new convocation of B&H Central Election Commission (B&H CEC), noting that without new CEC members, it will be difficult to have a high-quality election process in the future. Dodik also argued that the reform of the electoral legislation will not be possible without the new CEC. “We said earlier that if the current convocation of B&H CEC stays, the general elections next year will be questionable and it will be very difficult to hold it. Of course, we have a plan for rigorous activities as well, but we also believe that we can maintain dialogue,” said Dodik. According to him, there is no parliamentary democracy in the word in which political subjects, i.e. political parties, and those interested in the election process are not participating in discussions on electoral legislation. In case of B&H, Dodik noted, it is the US Embassy and UK Embassy along with other foreign embassies discussing the matter.

Bosniak political parties to undermine US’ initiative (Dnevni list)

The daily notes that the new US administration of President Joe Biden, who knows the situation in the Balkans very well, offered the political community in B&H help and support regarding limited constitutional reforms based on the Dayton principles. According to the daily, the US stressed that B&H is a state of two entities and three constituent peoples and that it wants to take part in reforms that will take the country forward and backwards in terms of Euro-Atlantic integration. Daily argues that the American principles did not sit well with key political stakeholders in Sarajevo and that Bakir Izetbegovic (SDA), Nermin Niksic (SDP), Zeljko Komsic (DF), Elmedin Konakovic (NiP) and Predrag Kojovic (NS) were taken aback with Washington’s positions. According to the article, the political leaders from Sarajevo are again opposing the US because of the ‘fatal’ issue of status of constituent peoples, which triggers the daily to say it would appear that the Bosniak political parties from Sarajevo will once again, after the ‘April Package’, undermine the US’ initiative. In this context daily notes that no political party or group has the capacity to accept or reject the positions offered to the Presidency of B&H by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Ambassador to B&H Eric Nelson. According to the article, it would appear the only unknown in the story is who will deceive who on the Bosniak political scene and who will take the blame for confrontation with the US.

Early elections held in Travnik Municipality on Sunday; HDZ B&H boycotts elections in Travnik (BHT1)

Early elections for the post of the Head of the Travnik Municipality were held on Sunday. BHT1 reports that all polling stations were closed on time and no major irregularities were registered during the voting process. President of the Travnik Municipal Election Commission Hajrudin Alibasic said for BHT1 that voter turnout by 16:00hrs was 20.48 per cent. Alibasic added that the first results are expected around 2100hrs. BHT1 reports that the Coalition ‘Pod lupom’ observed the voting process in Travnik Municipality. Dario Jovanovic from the Coalition ‘Pod lupom’ said there were two cases that may potentially be considered as violation of electoral process, one in which presidents of Polling Stations Committees kept voting material at their homes, which is not contrary to the Election Law, however “is symptomatic, i.e. unusual, that a member of a political party, who is a President of Polling Station Committee keeps sensitive voting material at home the night before the elections’’. Jovanovic added there was objection by one political entity related to organized transport of voters to one of the polling stations by a Councilor at the Travnik Municipal Council. “It also does not represent election irregularity as long as the Councilor does not pressure voters, or openly tells them who to vote for,” said Jovanovic. According to preliminary and unconfirmed results of the early elections in the Travnik Municipality, SDA candidate for the post of the Head of the Travnik Municipality Kenan Dautovic won majority of votes. The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) decided that the early elections in Travnik Municipalities will be held on April 11 due to death of Head of the Travnik Municipality Mirsad Peco. Thus, candidate of ‘Our Travnik Story’ (SDP B&H, People and Justice – NiP, and Our Party – NS) Haris Kaniza and SDA’s Dautovic run for the post of the new Head of the Travnik Municipality. HDZ B&H has boycotted elections because they believe their candidate, who was the second-ranked in regular elections should have been appointed the new Head of Travnik Municipality. All Croat parties boycotted the elections and according to the reporter, this is one of the reasons for low voter turnout. while the second one is the fact that citizens are tired of election processes. President of the Municipal Board of HDZ B&H Travnik Bojan Domic said that this is a message to institutions and everyone in B&H that this is not good and that the elections will be held without participation of one people in B&H.

PM: The opposition still can’t stand the fact they lost power (CdM)

Montenegrin Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic addressed the citizens of Montenegro again. In a statement, he notes that the advisor to the President of Montenegro and ex-head of the National Police Veselin Veljovic is the leader of the Patriotic Movement, thus “transferring his police headquarters into another body”. According to the PM, the opposition still can’t stand the fact they lost power. Krivokapic also noted that no one ever won the state, adding that it’s a duty of everyone to call on their supporters to stop rallies. “The door is ajar for freedom and democracy in Montenegro, but that is not a reason to take part in gatherings that violate that freedom in a certain way, limiting the freedom of some others, who would just like to move freely. Democracy also means protests, but these protests must be in the spirit of democracy, i.e. without messages of hatred, chauvinism and exclusivity.” “Today, we live for the new future and we’re going to reach it together, reconciled and professionally performing our affairs. We’re in the midst of preparing for the Montenegrin summer so that our citizens may be ready for it and our state help them on that road. Images from across the country work against the state, its industry and all those who work hard. All political entities in Montenegro should call on their supporters to give up on gatherings, as we should stay at our homes and turn to our everyday obligations, peace, order and work. That is our only obligation in the revival of Montenegro. No one should defend Montenegro from Montenegrins, because we all live here as citizens who love their country. I would like to call on the former government – current opposition which is being responsible, as they still can’t accept the fact, they lost power. Of course, neither Montenegro not its people have been lost with their election defeat.” “We know well that all this has been funded by organized crime in collaboration with politicians, as they preserve their interests in that way. I urge the citizens of Montenegro not to fall for calls of those who violated many laws and now wish to bring them into that lawlessness. No one has ever won the state, that won’t happen today or tomorrow. Montenegro is the country of all its citizens who wish to build it, not dissolve it.”

Markovic: This government has already fallen (Pobjeda)

Some of the parties making up the ruling coalition seek resignation of some of the ministers every day, and they all together then defend a minister whom prime minster wants to dismiss! It all happens in an unhealthy social environment that the same government has created and continuously keeps doing it. Unfortunately, Montenegro is going the wrong way with such government and it can be clearly seen every day, ex-prime minister and the DPS official Dusko Markovic says in an interview for Pobjeda daily. According to Markovic, the best illustration of the government is the recent address of Minister Leposavic, who told the majority of the government’s members congratulated him on his Srebrenica comments, only to turn their backs one by one in the days that followed. “Leposavic’s comments on Srebrenica, a crime that horrified the entire democratic world, that every civilized man loathes – is scandalous and it’d be scandalous even if voiced by an ordinary man. And just imagine how scandalous it is when uttered by a minister of human and minority rights, who’s a minister of justice as well!” On the PM’s decision to dismiss Minister Leposavic following pressure of the international community and the support international partners are giving to this government, ex-prime minister said: “International partners back every government as long as its actions are not in defiance of the principles of democracy, the rule of law and stability issues in the country and beyond its borders. As we can see, Krivokapic’s government seriously undermines these principles.”

Speaking about the DPS as the strongest opposition party in Montenegro that still actively impacts processes in Montenegro, he noted: “In order to influence social processes, it’s not enough to win certain number of votes, as it doesn’t mean a lot in itself. What we need is that those votes, along with votes of other entities with similar aspirations, can affect, i.e. create social and political processes. Finally – to implement the program they presented to citizens. As you know, it didn’t happen. I still believe that the DPS needs to cope with and eliminate all weaknesses that were recorded in the previous period – for both the DPS and Montenegro.” “This government has actually fallen and now it’s just the question of how it’ll become the pas,t” Markovic said.

Stano: Changes regarding citizenship only with consultations (TVCG)

Any change in legislation in the area of citizenship should be implemented after extensive consultations and with the participation of all relevant decision-makers, says European Commission spokesman Peter Stano. He points out for TVCG that the EU has been following the events in Montenegro very closely and in that context calls on all parties to exercise restraint, to respect the rule of law and to engage in a constructive dialogue. Regarding the dissatisfaction and protests in Montenegro relating to the decision on citizenship, Stano says that freedom of assembly is a basic EU right, but that it should be implemented without a negative impact on public health.

Zaev will meet Sela and Gashi to ask them to unblock the parliament (Republika/Telma TV)

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev will meet with the leaders of the Albanian opposition parties Ziadin Sela and Afrim Gashi. Zaev’s intent is to get them to remove their filibuster veto on a number of legislative proposals. Sela and Gashi demand that a law that will grant citizenship to what they claim are tens of thousands of disenfranchised ethnic Albanians living in Macedonia is adopted in the parliament. Their initial demand was to allow people to claim citizenship simply by producing several witnesses who would testify that the person lived in Macedonia prior to 1991. In response, VMRO-DPMNE submitted hundreds of amendments to the proposal, blocking it in Parliament, and Sela and Gashi announced they will block any other piece of legislation until their demand is approved. Telma TV reports that Zaev, Sela and Gashi will discuss other proposals, removing the idea of using witnesses for people who demand Macedonian citizenship. It’s believed that there are already many dual, triple or quadruple ethnic Albanian citizens between Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo and Serbia, and VMRO-DPMNE is likely to oppose any bill that would add to this situation, especially if it violates EU citizenship norms.

Top Albanian Islamist was given a Macedonian passport in 2018 (Republika)

Kosovo Albanian Islamist Fitim Dema was given a Macedonian passport in 2018, revealed today VMRO-DPMNE official Antonio Milososki. For days the party has been disclosing names from the list of over 200 criminals, mafia bosses and hitmen who were given Macedonian passports under assumed identities by the Zaev regime, and Dema is the first Islamist who was on the list.

We have information that Fitim Dema was issued a passport in 2018. He is member of the radical Islamist group ISIS and is wanted by the Kosovo courts to serve out a sentence for participating in a foreign armed group and for terrorism. In an unknown way he was able to arrive to Macedonia and received a passport under a false identity. We believe that issuing a passport to a regional terrorist who fought in Syria is not possible without involvement of higher structures in the government, Milososki said. The Zaev regime is trying to defend itself from the growing scandal by claiming that it is investigating the case and arrested a number of low-level clerks in the Ministry. Some of them were quickly revealed to be activists of the ruling SDSM party and personally close to top SDSM officials including Interior Minister Spasovski. Dema entered Albania with the Macedonian passport and tried to board a ferry to Italy but was identified and detained. The arrest was widely reported in the Albanian press. He was reportedly a deputy to Lavdrim Muhaxheri, the best-known Kosovo Albanian Islamist who was promoted to a unit commander in ISIS.

How the Socialist Party is monitoring confidential information on 910 thousand citizens (Tirana Times/Lapsi.al)

The web portal Lapsi.al gave light to a scandal that shows how the Socialist Party (SP) has created a database that contains confidential data on hundreds of thousands of voters, “exceeding the law.” According to Lapsi, “a data system has been made available in the SP electoral offices, which raises strong doubts about the use of the state database of E-Albania in function of the ruling party,” adding also that “the availability of personal data by the SP may have been done by other state institutions.” The portal has managed to provide a database that contains confidential data on 910 thousand voters of Tirana from 19 to 99 years old, including their telephone numbers, ID card numbers, polling station numbers, place of work, and a description of the political affiliation for each of the citizens in the list. The document provided by Lapsi.al, is approximately 234 MB. In the document, the political affiliation of each individual is briefly described in a column, through the information given by SP members, who through contacts, phone calls or common acquaintances create a rough idea of the political beliefs of the Albanian citizens. “The patronage system has been used in previous elections, but the difference for the “third term” is that, once upon a time the data for potential voters were collected voluntarily, while in the database used today by the Socialist Party there is our sensitive information, which is being misused for election campaign,” writes Lapsi. Lapsi.al learned also that the document with the sensitive data was distributed on the computers of the headquarters of the Socialist Party of Tirana, where the data is processed, and that “the same illegal procedure takes place in the headquarters of the branches of the Socialist Party in other regions.” According to the web portal, “the creation and use of this Database for electoral purposes is proof that to win the election, the Renaissance (Rilindja) is not stopping within the bounds of the law and there are no scruples to steal personal data about anyone.” Lapsi.al published some partial data on some well-known names of the Albanian public life, to demonstrate how the database works. The Democratic Party reacted after the publication of the scandal by saying that “the use of the e-Albania database by Edi Rama and SP officials is a criminal offense. For this DP is preparing a lawsuit that will be submitted to SPAK.” According to the former member of parliament of the DP Enkelejd Alibeaj, “in an unprecedented way, computers and servers have been installed in the Headquarters of the Socialist Party that intercept and use the personal data of the citizens from e-Albania portal.” Meanwhile, after the accusation made by Lapsi.al and the DP, the National Agency for Information Society (AKSHI) issued a statement, saying that “under no circumstances the data available to the AKSHI have been used, nor can they be technically used by political parties or the government itself for political or electoral purposes,” adding that “e-Albania does not store, administer or process citizens’ data at any time. This is clearly shown in the portal interface as well. The data are kept and administered from the respective databases in the framework of the fulfillment of the legal obligations of their administrative institutions according to the act of creation.” The Secretary General of the SP Taulant Balla, reacted against the declarations of the DP through a post on his social media channels: “Despairing slanderers! The Socialist Party has its own database created through years of organization and door-to-door communication with people. This is called fieldwork and it is done with direct contacts, not with cars and flags, so wait calmly for 25 April,” wrote Balla.

Kim: US supports Albania’s justice reform! (Radio Tirana)

US Ambassador Yuri Kim has reiterated that the US fully supports Albania’s justice reform and its EU membership aspirations. These statements were made by Ambassador Yuri Kim during the USAID Event ‘Justice for All’, which introduced the achievements in the justice reform. “Let me be clear: The United States fully supports Albania’s justice reform and its EU membership aspirations. We are with you, side by side. I am personally committed as a representative of the President of the United States to do everything I can to promote this reform as a means to achieve a fairer, more democratic and more secure future for Albanians. ‘The Justice for All’ project has been one of the many US commitments to support Albania’s justice reform. Our support will continue,” the US Embassy wrote.

Over 13 thousand citizens of Kosovo crossed the border with Albania only yesterday to spend the weekend (Radio Tirana)

Over 13 thousand citizens of Kosovo crossed the border with Albania only yesterday to spend the weekend. The biggest reason for the influx towards Albania was the restrictive measures that were imposed in Kosovo. The National Center for Border Management has announced that the wait at the border is lasting up to over 30 minutes. The car columns are from 300 to 400 meters.

Citizens stated that they are going to the neighboring country as they can frequent cafes and restaurants, as in Kosovo they are closed. Kosovo Police has shown that by 17:30 according to official statistics 11 thousand 570 citizens have crossed the border. For those who want to cross the border with Albania or vice versa, there is currently no need for tests or PCR. Both in the direction to Kosovo and in the direction to Albania for the citizens of Kosovo there will be no need for tests or PCR”, said the Ambassador of Albania in Kosovo, Qemal Minxhozi. Minxhozi also spoke about the agreements between the governments of Albania and Kosovo, which he said were a great impetus for the economy. “The agreements from 2014 until today, with all the shortcomings they have had, have been a great impetus, especially in the field of economy,” said Minxhozi. The government of Kosovo from 7 April has started implementing new measures for protection against COVID-19. These measures have been taken after numerous positive cases and deaths due to coronavirus infection. Some of the main measures are the curfew from 22:00 to 05:00 and the closure of restaurants for 11 days, so for the period 7-18 April only take-away services are allowed. Also, public and private pre-university institutions will go online from 12 to 18 April, while university ones from 7 to 18 April. Albania in recent weeks has had a drastic fall of deaths, while in Kosovo they have increased significantly.